Method and elements for forming a building facade

ABSTRACT

A facade is formed on an upright supporting surface using a plurality of facade elements formed of plastic material having a flat rear side and a decorative front side protruding from the rear side. The flat rear side of the elements can be abutted directly against the upright supporting surface with the elements in spaced relation with one another and secured thereon using nails or adhesive. Grouting in the form of mortar repair or caulking can be used to fill the gaps between adjacent elements on the supporting surface to complete the appearance of a natural stone facade on a building wall.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a facade element and a method of forming a building facade using a plurality of facade elements.

BACKGROUND

Stone foundations on buildings are known to have a desirable appearance. Due to the costly nature of forming a foundation of stone and the difficulties involved in retrofitting stone onto an existing building it is popular to make use of a facade to imitate that look of a stone foundation. Known facades generally involve use of flat stones or imitation stones made of plaster which are mounted on an upright supporting surface of the building using mortar and grout to hold the stones in place. In each instance, costly and skilled labour is typically required to achieve a desirable finished appearance.

Various imitation stones formed of plastic material are known in the prior art as shown in the following U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,558 to Jarboe et al.; U.S. Pat No. 5,395,577 to Garski; U.S. Pat No. 5,826,373 to Mrdjenovich; U.S. Pat No. 6,248,411 to Krause; U.S. Pat No. 4,197,684 to Johnson and D502,281 to Krause. None of the known prior art designs of imitations stones are suited for replacing stones in a stone building foundation though due to their size and configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a facade on an upright supporting surface, the method comprising:

forming a plurality of facade elements of plastic material having a flat rear side and a decorative front side protruding from the rear side;

abutting the rear side of the elements directly against the upright supporting surface with the elements in spaced relation with one another;

securing the elements to the upright supporting surface; and

grouting between the elements.

The use of facade elements which are formed of plastic are low in cost and can be easily mounted on an upright supporting surface using nails or adhesive by securing the elements directly to the supporting surface without any skilled labour being required.

The method may include securing the elements to the upright supporting surface with nails by driving the nails fully through the front side of the elements so as to be embedded through the rear side and into the supporting surface.

Alternatively, the elements may be secured to the upright supporting surface using adhesive.

The front side may be formed to be generally dome shaped with a stone texture, or alternatively to be rectangular in shape with the front side having a masonry texture.

The flat rear side preferably encloses a hollow interior of the element.

The method may include: 1) forming the elements to include a peripheral flange lying in a common plane with the flat rear side to project outwardly in opposing directions; and 2) securing the elements to the upright supporting surface by securing the peripheral flange to the upright supporting surface.

Alternatively, the method may include forming the elements with nails integrally molded therein which project rearwardly beyond the flat rear side of the elements.

Subsequent to mounting the elements on the upright supporting surface, the method preferably includes grouting between the elements using conventional mortar or caulking.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a facade element comprising:

a plastic body having a flat rear side and a decorative front side protruding from the rear side;

mounting means at the rear side of the plastic body for securing the rear side in abutment with an upright supporting surface.

The mounting means may comprise a flat panel at the rear side which is formed integrally with the front side of the plastic body and nails for being received through the flat panel.

The mounting means may alternatively comprise a peripheral flange in a common plane with the flat rear side which projects outwardly in opposing directions from the body with which the flanges are integrally molded.

In yet a further embodiment, the mounting means may comprise nails which are integrally molded within the plastic body to project rearwardly beyond the flat rear side of the body.

The rear side may comprise a pair of flat panels supported perpendicularly to one another to define an interior angle therebetween.

The plastic body of the element may be formed of polyethylene or another suitable material which is sufficiently rigid to be self supporting, yet resists cracking with penetrated with a nail.

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a building upon which the facade elements have been installed.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a first embodiment of the facade element.

FIG. 3 is sectional view of the element according to FIG. 2 as shown installed on an upright supporting surface.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a corner facade element.

FIG. 5 is a partly sectional top plan view of the element according to FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional elevational view of a further embodiment of the facade element.

FIG. 7 is sectional side elevational view of yet a further embodiment of the facade element.

FIG. 8 is perspective view of another embodiment of the facade element.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the accompanying figures there is illustrated a facade element generally indicated by reference numeral 10. The element 10 is used in cooperation with a plurality of other elements of similar configuration to form a building facade 11 which imitate the appearance of a natural stone or brick foundation. Though various embodiments of the elements are described and illustrated in the following, the common feature of each will first be described herein.

In each instance the element 10 includes a body formed of plastic material, for example polyethylene, which is formed to include a flat rear side 12 and a decorative front side 14 which is textured and which protrudes outwardly from a rear plane of the flat rear side 12. The plastic is formed so as to have sufficient strength to be rigid and self-supporting, yet will have sufficient resilience to prevent cracking when pierced with nails and the like during mounting of the elements on an upright supporting surface 16. The flat rear side 12 is to be configured to mount to the upright supporting surface 16 directly in abutment therewith.

Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 3, a first embodiment is illustrated in which the element is fully enclosed about a hollow interior. The flat rear side 12 comprises an enclosed flat panel formed integrally with the front side 14 which comprises a domed surface having a stone like texture at the outer side thereof. When mounting on the building, the flat rear panel is abutted against the upright supporting surface in direct contact therewith and nails are used to secure the element in place. Using an air driven nailer, nails 17 are inserted at the front side so as to be driven fully through the front side 14 then remain imbedded through the flat rear panel at the rear 12 and the supporting surface 16 for gripping the flat rear panel to the supporting surface. Additional elements 10 are mounted in a similar manner in spaced apart relation with one another on the upright supporting surface. A grouting material 18 is then used to fill the gaps between adjacent elements. The grouting material may comprise conventional mortar or a caulking material.

Turning now to FIGS. 4 and 5 a corner facade element is illustrated which is similarly formed as an enclosed element having a hollow interior. The rear side 12 comprises two flat panels 20 oriented perpendicularly to one another to define an interior corner which overlaps an exterior corner of the upright supporting surface 16 on the building. The front side 14 is similarly formed integrally with the rear side to form a domed surface with a stone texture. Nails are similarly driven through the front side 14 for gripping the rear side 12 and being embedded into the supporting surface 16.

Turning now to FIG. 6 a further embodiment of the element is shown in which the rear side 12 is open and is defined by a peripheral flange 22 lying in a common rear plane of the element to project generally radially outwardly from opposing peripheral edges of the elements. The front side in this instance is similarly domed to protrude outwardly from the rear plane and includes a stone texture thereon. Nails 17 can then be driven directly into the peripheral flange 22 at the rear side to secure the flange to the upright supporting surface with the rear side in direct abutment with the supporting surface.

Turning now to FIG. 7 a further embodiment is illustrated in which the rear side 12 is similarly open and includes a peripheral rim 34 lying in the rear plane at the rear side. The front side 14 is domed and projects outwardly from the rear side with a stone texture thereon. A series of posts 26 are mounted within the hollow interior of the element to project from the front side to terminate in the rear plane commonly with the peripheral rim 24 at the rear side. Nails 28 are molded integrally within the post 26 to project rearwardly beyond the rear plane defined by the peripheral rim 24. In order to mount the element of FIG. 7 to the upright supporting surface, the entire element is urged towards the upright supporting surface so that the rear side is in direct abutment therewith by using a rubber mallet or the like to effectively hammer the integral nails 28 into the upright supporting surface 16.

Turning now to FIG. 8 a further embodiment of the element is illustrated in which the plastic formed body is fully enclosed with a hollow interior similarly to the first embodiment. The rear side is flat with the front side 14 being generally rectangular and protruding outwardly from the rear side to form a rectangular brick like shape. The front side 14 includes a masonry texture for resembling a conventional masonry brick. In order to mount the element to the wall, nails are similarly used to be driven fully through the front side 14 to be embedded in the rear side 12 and the upright supporting surface 16.

In further embodiments, the elements 10 may be secured by adhesive or other suitable fastening means which permit the rear side 12 to be abutted against the upright supporting surface upon which the building facade 12 is to be formed

In all embodiments, a plurality of facade elements are formed of plastic material and are mounted with their rear sides in abutment with the upright supporting surface in spaced apart relationship with one another. Nails are typically provided for adequately securing the elements to the supporting surface. Once mounted on the supporting surface, a suitable caulking or grouting material 18 is used to fill the gaps between adjacent elements 10.

The facade elements can be formed by various manufacturing techniques including injection moulding, rotational moulding, blow moulding or thermoforming depending upon the desired characteristics of the finished elements.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. 

1. A method of forming a facade on an upright supporting surface, the method comprising: forming a plurality of facade elements of plastic material having a flat rear side and a decorative front side protruding from the rear side; abutting the rear side of the elements directly against the upright supporting surface with the elements in spaced relation with one another; securing the elements to the upright supporting surface; and grouting between the elements.
 2. The method according to claim 1 including securing the elements to the upright supporting surface with nails.
 3. The method according to claim 2 including driving the nails fully through the front side of the elements so as to be embedded through the rear side and into the supporting surface.
 4. The method according to claim 1 including securing the elements to the upright supporting surface using adhesive.
 5. The method according to claim 1 including forming the front side to be generally dome shaped with a stone texture.
 6. The method according to claim 1 including forming the flat rear side to be enclosed.
 7. The method according to claim 6 including forming the elements to be hollow.
 8. The method according to claim 1 including: forming the elements to include a peripheral flange lying in a common plane with the flat rear side to project outwardly in opposing directions; and securing the elements to the upright supporting surface by securing the peripheral flange to the upright supporting surface.
 9. The method according to claim 1 including forming the elements with nails integrally molded therein which project rearwardly beyond the flat rear side of the elements.
 10. The method according to claim 1 including forming the elements to be rectangular in shape with the front side having a masonry texture.
 11. The method according to claim 1 including grouting between the elements using conventional mortar.
 12. The method according to claim 1 including grouting between the elements using caulking.
 13. A facade element comprising: a plastic body having a flat rear side and a decorative front side protruding from the rear side; mounting means at the rear side of the plastic body for securing the rear side in abutment with an upright supporting surface.
 14. The element according to claim 13 wherein the mounting means comprises a flat panel at the rear side which is formed integrally with the front side of the plastic body and nails for being received through the flat panel.
 15. The element according to claim 13 wherein the mounting means comprises a peripheral flange in a common plane with the flat rear side which projects outwardly in opposing directions from the body with which the flanges are integrally molded.
 16. The element according to claim 13 wherein the mounting means comprises nails which are integrally molded within the plastic body to project rearwardly beyond the flat rear side of the body.
 17. The element according to claim 13 wherein the decorative front side has a domed shape with a stone texture.
 18. The element according to claim 13 wherein the rear side comprise a pair of flat panels supported perpendicularly to one another to define an interior angle therebetween.
 19. The element according to claim 13 wherein the decorative front side is rectangular in shape and includes a masonry texture.
 20. The element according to claim 13 wherein the plastic body is formed of polyethylene. 